September 15, 2009

Jerk It

Today's photo shoot at the TIFF red carpet at Roy Thomson Hall was mostly business as usual. However, there were a few incidents which definitely stood out.

You'd think that grown adults would know better than to behave like animals, especially the ones who are tasked with setting examples for their children. Unfortunately, as Naomi Watts signed autographs, a few people behind me decided it was a good idea to push me in order to get a better view.

I bet they didn't expect me to push right back; heck, I didn't expect myself to push back - but I'm glad I did. I had to do it one more time when someone to the right of me didn't take the hint the first time around. I also had to punch upward when some genius obstructed my camera's flash by placing his autograph material over my head. Better still, a short lady behind me decided to forego the concept of personal space and use my shoulder in balancing herself (or some other reason which I care not to speculate about).

At this point, I snapped. "Don't touch my shoulder," I said firmly. "You should have brought better goods...and you should have come earlier." The truth is that I was already pissed off at her for using a very small gap between myself and another person to place her bag; her general lack of manners also drove me to the edge. If she came earlier, she surely could have staked out a better and bigger spot for herself and her stuff. I don't normally go out of my way to be a jerk, but when it comes to red carpet events, only the carpet should be stepped on.

I conclude this post with a much more lighthearted incident revolving around my Kangol hat and Mayor David Miller. His appearance was a surprise for me; here's how our exchange went down:

Mayor Miller: "That's the best hat I've seen in ages."Tsar Kasim: "Thanks."Miller: "Can I have it?"TK: "No...you don't look like you need it."

I had to reassure him that my last line was a compliment; this photo should be sufficient proof.